Noiseless railway-crossing.



G. D. SHOOP.

' NOISELESS RAILWAY CROSSING.

,APPLIOATION FILED APR.30.'1906'.

' mgx No. 835,565. PAT'ENTED NOV. 13, 1905. G D. S5001 NOISELESS RAILWAY050551155.

APPLICATION FILED APR.30, 1906.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 13, 1906,

Application filed April 30, 1906. Serial No. 314,522.

To all w/bm'n, it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE D. SHooP, a citizen of the United States,residing at Rock Island, in the county of Rock Island and State ofIllinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Noiseless Railway-Crossings, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to do away, if possible, with the noise,vibration, and wear incident to the passage of wheels of rolling-stockover the rails at railway-crossings, the invention being susceptible,however, of a broad application to tracks the rails whereof have thetread portions spaced.

In carrying out the invention it is contemplated to provide awheel-flange bearing spanning the space between spaced tread portions ofrails and adapted to support the wheels of cars or rolling-stock byengagement with the flange portions thereof as the wheels travel overthe aforesaid spaced portions of the treads of the rails. Theflangebearing is so formed that a continuous bearing for the wheelseither at the tread or flange portions is afforded in the travel of therolling-stock, and rounding off or wear on spaced ends of rails iseliminated, as well as the objectionable noise incident to the passageof the wheels over such spaced tread portions of rails.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, andalso to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction of the meansfor efl'ecting the result, reference is to be had to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is aperspective view showing the invention as when applied to arailwaycrossing. Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line Y Y ofFig. 3. Fig. 3-is a top plan view of the crossing. Fig. 4 is alongitudinal sectional view through the auxiliary tread, which comprisesthe wheel-flange bearing of one of the rails.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the followingdescription and indicated in all the views of the drawings by the samereference characters.

In the drawings the invention is shown in its specific adaptation to arailway-crossing, and it is well known that at crossings of this typespaces are formed between the tread portions of adjacent rails of thetracks which cross each other, and the bearings of the wheels on therails is broken at the points where the rails cross, giving rise to,disad vantages hereinbefore premised.

The numeral 1 indicates the rails of the track A, and the numeral 2 therails of the track B, which crosses the track A in the customary way. Topermit of the crossing of the tracks and proper travel of therollingstook thereover, it is necessary that the tread portions of therails 1 be separated or spaced, as shown at 1*, while the similarportions of the rails 2 are likewise spaced, as indicated at the samereference character 1*. In other words, the treadsurfaces of the rails 1and 2 are interrupted or broken, and it is customary to prevent roundingor wear on the rails at the crossed portions by chilling or hardeningthe metal at this piont. This operation of course involves considerableexpense and labor to accomplish and may be dispensed with in thepractical embodiment of the present invention. The wheels of therollingstock comprise the tread, which moves on the tread-surface of therails, and also the flange formed at one edge of the tread.

As above mentioned, the invention contemplates the provision of acontinuous flange-bearing for the wheel at the point of separation orbreak in the rails of the track and indicated at 1* in the drawings. Theflange-bearing consists of a supplementary tread 3, located at one sideof each rail and consisting of a plate applied to the raillongitudinally of the same. The plate or supplemental tread 3 in theillustration in the drawings is continuous and is preferably attached tothe base portion of each rail of the track A by means of suitablefastenings.

Each of the tread plates or members 3 inclines or slopes downwardly atits ends until its extremities are about flush with the base portion ofthe rail to which it is applied, this construction permitting the flangeof each wheel of the rolling-stock to gradually come into contact andsecure a bearing upon the auxiliary tread 3 of the rail and graduallyraise the tread portion of the wheel from the main tread or ball portionof the rail.

It will be understood that one of the tread plates or members 3 will beused for each rail of the tracks, and, further, it is contemplated thatthis auxiliary tread may be either integrally formed or separably formedwith the rail to which it is applied, such being immaterial within thescope and spirit of the invention. The auxiliary treads 3, forming theflange-bearings of the rails 1, are continuous, while those for therails 2 are in sections, snugly fitting against the treads of rails 1 atthe points of meeting.

It will be understood that the end sections of the auxiliary treads 3 ofthe rails 2 will incline downwardly toward the outer extremities inorder to gradually lift the tread portions of the wheels of therolling-stock from the ball or head portions of the rails, so that theweight of the body carried on the wheels will be maintained or supportedby the flanges thereof, which flanges have a continuous bearing acrossthe spaces between the meeting or crossed portions of the rails 1 and 2.

Further, it will be understood that, if desirable, transversely-arrangedauxiliary treads of the rails 1 and 2 may be integrally formed with oneanother and applied as a body or whole when being placed in position.This would only apply to the separable formation of the auxiliarytreads, however.

Guard-rails 4, of the usual type are provided for the rails 1 and 2 ofthe tracks A and B.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is Incombination with a crossing for railwaytracks embodying theusual crossedrails 1 and 2, having spaced ball or tread portions at the points ofcrossing, the wheel-flange bearings 3 comprising auxiliary treads at thebase portions of the rails at the points of crossing and spanning thespaces at such points, said auxiliary treads being adapted to supportthe wheels by engaging the flanges thereof so as to prevent the treadsof the wheels from moving down as they pass over said spaces, oneauxiliary tread being provided for each rail and extending some distancebeyond the points of spacing of the main treads of said. rails, saidauxiliary treads inclining downwardly toward the outer extremitiesthereof for the purpose specified, the auxiliary treads 3 of the rails 1being continuous throughout the length thereof, while the similar treadsof the rails 2 are made in sections snugly fitting against the treads 3of the rails 1.

In testimony whereof I affix my signtaure in presence of two witnesses.

GEORGE D. SHOOP

